Vehicle systems and methods

Abstract

A vehicle system includes a chassis, a plurality of wheels coupled to the chassis and supporting the chassis for rolling on a surface, and a riding platform coupled to the chassis. The riding platform is for supporting a user behind the chassis when the riding platform is in a downward pivoted state. A linkage connects the riding platform to the chassis for selective pivotal motion relative to the chassis between an upward pivoted state in which the riding platform is pivoted into a position to allow a user to walk behind the chassis and a downward pivoted state in which the user may ride or step on the platform.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A vehicle system comprising:
 a chassis; 
 a plurality of wheels coupled to the chassis and supporting the chassis for rolling on a surface; 
 a riding platform coupled to the chassis, the riding platform for supporting a user behind the chassis when the riding platform is in a downward pivoted state; 
 a linkage connecting the riding platform to the chassis, for selective pivotal motion relative to the chassis between an upward pivoted state in which the riding platform is pivoted into a position to allow a user to walk behind the chassis; and 
 a container supported on the chassis, the container having two side walls, an opening between the two side walls, and a sliding door that selectively slides between a closed position to at least partially cover the opening and an open position to uncover the opening, wherein each of the side walls is collapsible or foldable from an expanded state to a collapsed or folded state while the container is supported on the chassis and when the sliding door is in the open position. 
 
     
     
       2. The vehicle system of  claim 1 , wherein the container includes at least one lock configured to selectively lock the door in a closed state. 
     
     
       3. The vehicle system of  claim 2 , wherein the at least one lock is configured to be selectively locked or unlocked in response to a wireless signal. 
     
     
       4. The vehicle system of  claim 1 , further comprising at least one motor coupled to one or more of the plurality of wheels for providing a drive force for moving the vehicle, wherein the container has a front section and a rear section, and the vehicle system further comprises a handle located between the riding platform and the rear section of the container when the riding platform is in a downward pivoted state, wherein at least one sidewall of the rear section of the container has one or more ports for receiving a battery or other power source to provide electric power to the at least one motor when received within the one or more ports. 
     
     
       5. The vehicle system of  claim 1 , further comprising at least one motor coupled to one or more of the plurality of wheels for providing a drive force for moving the vehicle, wherein the container has a plurality of ports for receiving a battery to provide electric power to the at least one motor when the battery is received within one of the plurality of ports, the battery being accessible and removable from the ports, while one or more other batteries remain in the one or more ports and are sufficient to drive the at least one motor of the vehicle. 
     
     
       6. The vehicle system of  claim 1 , further comprising a trailer having a frame or platform and a plurality of wheels connected to the frame or platform for supporting the frame or platform for rolling on the surface; and a linkage structure for selectively coupling the trailer to the riding platform. 
     
     
       7. A vehicle system comprising:
 a chassis; 
 a plurality of wheels coupled to the chassis and supporting the chassis for rolling on a surface; 
 a riding platform coupled to the chassis, the riding platform for supporting a user behind the chassis when the riding platform is in a downward pivoted state; 
 a trailer having a frame or platform and a plurality of wheels connected to the frame or platform for supporting the frame or platform for rolling on the surface; 
 a linkage structure for selectively coupling the trailer to the riding platform; 
 at least one container supported on the frame or platform of the trailer, the at least one container having an interior volume for containing one or more objects; and 
 at least one container lifting system supported on the frame or platform of the trailer, for selectively lifting the container off of the frame or platform of the trailer; 
 wherein the lifting system comprises:
 a second frame or platform for holding the at least one container; and 
 a plurality of legs pivotally connected to the second frame or platform, for pivoting between a retracted state and an extended state; 
 wherein, upon pivoting to the extended state, the plurality of legs extend downward below the second frame or platform to engage a ground surface and to raise the second frame or platform above the frame or platform of the trailer. 
 
 
     
     
       8. The vehicle system of  claim 6 , further comprising at least one further container supported on the frame or platform of the trailer, the at least one further container having an interior volume for containing one or more objects; wherein the at least one further container comprises side walls that have one or more folding axis or hinge axis that allow the container to fold between an expanded state and a collapsed state, the at least one further container being stackable with one or more other further containers of similar construction on the frame or platform of the trailer, when the at least one further container and the one or more other further containers are each in the collapsed state. 
     
     
       9. The vehicle system of  claim 1 , wherein the container has a cooling system for cooling an interior volume of the container, or a heating system for heating the interior volume of the container. 
     
     
       10. The vehicle system of  claim 1 , wherein the container exposes a first portion of the chassis when the container is in the collapsed or folded state, and the container covers the first portion of the chassis when the container is in the expanded state, and wherein the first portion of the chassis is pivotable relative to a second portion of the chassis from a generally horizontal state to a generally vertical state to reduce a length dimension of the chassis, when the side walls are in the collapsed or folded state. 
     
     
       11. The vehicle system of  claim 10 , wherein the first portion of the chassis provides a support surface for supporting one or more other objects when the side walls are in the collapsed or folded state and the first portion of the chassis is in the generally horizontal state. 
     
     
       12. The vehicle system of  claim 1 , wherein the container exposes a first portion of the chassis when the container is in the collapsed or folded state, and the container covers the first portion of the chassis when the container is in the expanded state, and wherein, when the side walls are in the collapsed or folded state, the chassis is configured to nest with one or more other chassis having a similar construction, such that at least part of the first portion of the chassis overlaps or is overlapped by the other chassis. 
     
     
       13. The vehicle system of  claim 1 , further comprising a plurality of containers, each container being a module configured to be selected from the plurality of containers and selectively connected to and disconnected from the chassis. 
     
     
       14. The vehicle system of  claim 4 , wherein the sidewalls of the container are pivotally coupled to the rear section of the container and remain in front of the rear section of the container, in their expanded state and in their collapsed or folded state. 
     
     
       15. The vehicle system of  claim 10 , the chassis includes at least one leg on that is arranged to contact the ground, when the first portion of the chassis is pivoted to the generally vertical state. 
     
     
       16. The vehicle system of  claim 1 , wherein the container further includes a rail on each of the side walls, each rail engaged with an edge or protrusion extending from the sliding door to allow the sliding door to slide relative to the rail between the open and closed positions. 
     
     
       17. The vehicle system of  claim 1 , wherein the door is made of flexible material that allows the door to bend and follow a curved path as the door slides between the open and closed positions. 
     
     
       18. The vehicle system of  claim 1 , wherein the container has a rear section configured to receive the sliding door as the sliding door slides toward an open position. 
     
     
       19. The vehicle system of  claim 18 , wherein the rear section of the container has an inner wall and an outer wall, and a gap between the inner wall and the outer wall that receives at least a portion of the sliding door as the sliding door slides toward an open position. 
     
     
       20. The vehicle system of  claim 12 , wherein:
 the first portion of the chassis includes a front section having a maximum width W; 
 the plurality of wheels include at least one pair of front wheels on the first portion of the chassis and arranged in a spaced relation across at least a portion of the width W of the front section; 
 the plurality of wheels include at least one pair of rear wheels arranged in a spaced relation to each other by a second width greater than the maximum width W; and 
 at least the front section of the first portion of the chassis is configured to fit between a pair of rear wheels of one of the one or more other chassis of similar construction, to nest with the other chassis. 
 
     
     
       21. The vehicle system of  claim 7 , wherein the lifting system further comprises a cross member pivotally connected to each of the legs at a pivot point spaced from a pivot point at which the legs are pivotally connected to the second frame or platform; and a handle connected to the cross member to apply a pivoting force on the legs, through the cross-member.